First record of a solar eclipse dates back more than 3,000 years, plus more facts and figures ahead of Monday’s event

Monday’s solar eclipse is expected to be the most-watched eclipse in history. Here’s a look at what Californians will be able to observe, and some more facts and figures about Earth, the sun and our solar system.

What we will see

Californians will see a partial eclipse of about 69 percent. The sun will rise at 6:38 a.m. Aug. 21, with the effects of the partial solar eclipse visible by the time most people get to work.

Protect your eyes

If you haven’t purchased eclipse viewers yet, we suggest manufacturers or vendors that have been approved by the American Astronomical Society or International Organization for Standardization. Looking at the sun with substandard glasses may cause permanent damage to your eyes.

NASA will post selfies of your eclipse pictures if you text them with a short sentence to #EclipseSelfie.

Views on Earth

The first known records of humans seeing an eclipse date back more than 3,000 years, but people did not begin to understand that Earth revolved around the sun until the 1600s.

The fact that NASA has predicted the time, duration and exact path of this eclipse shows the some of the regularity of the universe that we have come to understand. Astronomers have predicted other total eclipses for the next 100 years, with the next total solar eclipse visible in North America on April 8, 2024.